Marketing Essentials in Travel and Tourism Sector: A Report

This report delves into the marketing essentials within the travel and tourism sector, focusing on the responsibilities and roles of marketing functions. It begins by defining marketing concepts and explores various marketing strategies, including production, product, and selling concepts. The report then examines the roles of marketing departments in identifying customer needs, developing market strategies, and managing brand equity and marketing budgets. Furthermore, it describes the interrelationship between the marketing department and other organizational units such as finance, human resources, and sales. A significant portion of the report compares the marketing mix strategies of Trailfinders and TUI, analyzing their approaches to product, price, place, and promotion. Finally, the report formulates a marketing plan for a travel business, applying the marketing mix to evaluate and monitor overall marketing objectives. The report provides a comprehensive analysis of marketing practices in the travel industry, offering valuable insights for businesses in this sector.

MARKETING
ESSENTIALS IN
TRAVEL AND
TOURISM SECTOR

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................1
TASK 1...............................................................................................................................1
Mention about different responsibilities and roles of marketing function in relation with
tourism sector ...............................................................................................................1
Describe the manner in which roles and responsibilities of marketing department is
related with organisational context................................................................................3
TASK 2...............................................................................................................................5
Compare different ways through which travel companies apply marketing mix to
marketing processes to acquire business targets.........................................................5
TASK 3...............................................................................................................................8
Formulate a marketing plan for travel business and apply marketing mix to evaluate
& monitor overall marketing objectives..........................................................................8
CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is a procedure in which a company perform different activities and
operations so that customers can appreciate their services and products. To carry out
marketing activities, a business firm is needed to perform market analysis, research and
acknowledge the perception of customers. This will benefits business firms in fulfilling
the urge of customers in a proper manner (Pike, 2015). This assignment is prepared in
relation with Trailfinders which is Britain oriented travelling organisation, co-
headquartered in Ireland and UK. This company has around 35 travel centres and offers
travelling facilities at Asia, North & Sounth Africa, New Zealand, Australia etc. This
company is established in 1970. This report is going to cover about roles and
obligations of marketing department in a company along with their interrelationship with
other units of workplace. Other than this, a marketing mix is carried out to evaluate the
advantage of company against rivals. Here, example of TUI group is taken in
comparison with Trailfinders and at last a marketing plan will be produced so that
concerned company can attain their organisational objectives efficiently.
TASK 1
Mention about different responsibilities and roles of marketing function in relation with
tourism sector
Marketing is a process where different tactics are performed so that attention of
potential customers can be grabbed in an appropriate manner. With the help of
marketing, different products and services offered by Trailfinderscan be popularised
among individuals. Marketing concept is a philosophy in which manager of a company
tries to identify the requirements of their customers so that strategic advantageous
decision can be taken for a company.
Marketing concepts
There exist different kind of marketing concepts which allows a company to gain
maximised sales and profits. In context with Trailfinders, these marketing concepts are
mentioned below:
 Production concept: As per production concept, customers will purchase those
commodities and services that are not expensive and easily available. Business
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persons which follows production concept, focuses on manufacturing high
production and offering standardised services in low cost. This concept will
benefits Trailfinders to gain maximised sales and revenues (Pappas, 2017).
 Product concept: This concept defines that people prefers to buy only those
products or services which are innovative and offers good quality. In this context,
manager atTrailfindersis needed to make superior products and provide
standardised services so that maximum number of people can be attracted. This
will help the concerned firm to earn high profits and market shares.
 Selling concept: Under this concept, a company along with manufacturing
products and generating services, tries to convince people to buy their offerings
with the help of advertisement and promotions. This concept ignores the fact that
whether a product is actually needed or not. In this marketing concept, main aim
of Trailfinderswill be to promote its services or products so that customers will
feel as if they want the product and buys it (Ogunmokun and Hsin Tang, 2012).
Source: (Marketing concepts, 2017)
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Illustration 1: Marketing concepts, 2017

Roles and responsibilities of marketing functions
Marketing department of a company have different responsibilities and roles
which benefits a business firm in attaining their expected outcomes. In relation with
Trailfinders which is a travelling company, these responsibilities and roles are stated
below:
 Identifying requirements of customers: This is the main role of marketing
department in an organisation. Marketing manager of a company is needed to
acknowledge the needs of their customers so that they can be given expected
services. In context with Trailfinders, responsibility of marketing department is to
carry out marketing analysis and research so that expectations of customers can
be acknowledged. This will helps the concerned firm in retaining its customers for
maximum time period.
 Developing market strategies: It is another role of marketing department where
marketing manager have the responsibility to formulate new marketing strategies
so that high advantage over rival companies can be gained in a proper manner.
In case of Trailfinders, manager of company can either enter a new market or
introduce a new service in marketplace so that customer base of firm can be
enhanced significantly (Nicholls and et. al., 2013). If marketing team
ofTrailfinderswill not formulate these kind of strategies than, company will have a
limited growth and attainment of high profits will not be possible.
Responsibility and roles of marketing unit in relation to marketing environment
Marketing environment is referred as the combination of internal and external
aspects that impacts the capability of a company to sustain a strong relationship with
customers and serves them in an effective manner. There exist varied roles and
responsibilities of marketing unit in market environment which are stated below:
 Brand equity: Marketing department is Trailfinders has a responsibility to
maintain appropriate brand equity. This will allow the business firm to earn high
profits in a competitive environment of market. To maintain high equity, company
can target a specific section of people and offer them standardised quality as per
their expectations. Marketing team of Trailfinders can increase its brand quality
with the help of advertisements tools like magazines, social media, TV,
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networking etc. This will allow a company to sustain positive image of company
among people due to which high sales will be earned (Lipsman and et. al., 2012).
 Managing marketing budget: This is another responsibility of marketing team to
sustain a strong presence in marketing environment. Manager in Trailfinders is
needed to prepare a proper budget so that all the expenses and expenditures of
company can be identified before time. This will help the concerned firm in
adopting only those tactics and strategies that can be managed within available
budget. If marketing budget of company will be imbalanced, manager will not be
able to implement strategies in marketing environment in a systematic manner.
Describe the manner in which roles and responsibilities of marketing department is
related with organisational context
Marketing department in Trailfinders is needed to work in a coordinated way with
other departments so that organisational targets can be attained in a timely manner.
Marketing department has the work to promote and advertise the services of a company
along with analysing entire market so that customers can be given with only those
offerings which are needed by them. Interrelationship of marketing department
inTrailfinderswith other functional units are stated below:
 Marketing and finance department: Finance department of a company has the
work to manage capital and funds along with allocating budget to other
departments so that business activities can be carried out in a systematic
manner. To formulate and allocate budget, capital is needed. Marketing
department in Trailfinders benefits finance department in identifying investors
and stakeholders who can invest in company due to which finance unit do not
face shortage of money while budget preparation. Finance team provide funds to
marketing team due to which they are able to perform their activities and
operations in appropriate way. Hence, these departments are required to work in
a coordinated manner.
 Marketing and human resource department: HR department of a company
has the responsibility to recruit, train and select appropriate workers who can
perform well in complex situations also. Marketing team promote and advertise
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about the vacant positions in company in market due to which maximum people
applied for these vacancies and desired candidate is selected. To perform the
business activities in a proper manner, marketing team needs skilled workforce
which is hired by HR department. This shows the interdependence of marketing
team and HR team in Trailfinders.
 Marketing and sales department: Role of sales department is to sold the
products and services of a company to potential or existing customers so that
high revenues can be earned. Products and services which are sold by sales unit
is promoted by marketing department due to which people have knowledge
about the feature and use of products (Groucutt and Hopkins, 2015). This will
allow the sales team in Trailfinders to gain maximised sales. If marketing
department will not promote the products and services of Trailfinders, it is not
possible for sales department to attain their sales targets. Hence, these
departments are dependent on each other.
Importance of interrelationship among marketing and other departments
It is very important for different departments of a company like finance
department, marketing department, production department and sales department to
work in an integrated manner. This will allow Trailfinders to perform complex task in a
simplified and timely manner. Also, overall productivity of company will improve. In
case, if different department will not have a good relation with each other, they will work
in an individual manner. Due to this, attainment of organisational goals will not be
possible and working potential of individual department will reduce (Desai, 2013).
TASK 2
Compare different ways through which travel companies apply marketing mix to
marketing processes to acquire business targets
Marketing mix is defined as a group of strategies, actions and tactics which are
used by a business firm so that promotion of brand and associated product can take
place in a proper manner. This will benefits a company in evaluating and comparing its
performance against competitors.Trailfindersis a popular tour operator which operates
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worldwide. This company is given tough competition by TUI which is also a UK based
tour operator. Marketing mix for both companies is mentioned below:
Product
 Trailfinders: Trailfinders commercialise mass tourism and operates successfully
in global manner. Services offered byTrailfindersare holiday packages that
involves hotel, airline services, food, car hire, travel etc. Company provide
packages for corporate business, leisure travel and foreign exchange of
currency. Company offer special insurance services linked with loss of baggage,
medical expenses, personal accident etc. To promote its services and products,
company has introduced a series of coupons that can be exchanged for meals
and stays during trips and vacations.
 TUI: This organisation sell its services and products in five categories under
brand identity of TUI. Product portfolio of this company involves around 1600
travelling agencies which offer tour and visiting packages to customers both at
domestic and international level. Also, this company offer services of meals and
accommodations in a standardised manner and operates more than 400 hotels in
UK only. To increase the value of its services, company can start giving credits
and delivery, warranties, helpline services and after sale services to their
customers.
Price
 Trailfinders: Company provide its holiday packages and other services at
reasonable prices so that they can maintain their sales and profits in a
considerable manner. In peak season, manager in Trailfinders adopts Premium
pricing strategy so that company can earn maximised revenues. Rest of the time,
company adopts economic pricing strategy so that maximum people can afford
its services. This helps the company in earning desired market shares.
 TUI: This company use competitive pricing strategy where rates of services and
products are decided according to the price charged by rivals. Leisure travelling
packages are priced at premium level due to standardised services and normal
packages are average priced so that average income man can also purchase
them (Chatterjee and Chatterjee, 2019).
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Place
 Trailfinders: Offices of Trailfinders are present in Uk and Ireland. Main services
offered by Trailfinders include weekend holidays, domestic and international
holidays, senior citizen holidays. Trailfinders mainly provide tour packages in the
region of Russia, Europe, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Egypt and UK.
Company perform its business activities via both online and offline platforms.
 TUI: To sell its services and products, company uses two marketing channels
which are online website of company and their offices. In UK, company has more
than 500 offices. Services of company are easily available and main area which
is served by this company is Europe and North America.
Promotion
 Trailfinders: To promote and advertise its services, company adopts different
themes for their packages like fusion holiday and festive holiday. To promote
about their themes, company takes the help of social media, digital media,
newspaper, hoarding, TV etc. Also, company has a promotional page at social-
media platforms where customers are acknowledged about the offers and
discounts of company. Also, to promote its services, company carry out big
events and sponsor programs like London Olympic games, football clubs etc.
 TUI: In order to promote its services and products, TUI uses both traditional and
digital media like newspaper, hoardings, Facebook, internet etc. To advertise
their activities, company initiates various events and trade exhibitions. Main
promotional packages of company are adventure holiday, honeymoon special,
beach and cruise special holiday. These promotion technique benefits TUI in
achieving high sales (Baker and Magnini, 2016).
Process
 Trailfinders: Company follows systematic process so that customers can be
served properly. When customers came for enquiry, their visa processes,
documentations, currency exchange process are deal in a systematic manner.
 TUI: TUI has both online and offline processes in which customers are given
standardised services in a systematic manner and their queries are resolved on
time via both face to face meeting or mobile applications.
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People
 Trailfinders: Trailfinders considers their employees as valuable assets due to
which employees are given regular training and benefits as per their
performance. In global context, company is employing more than 31000
employees. By giving them appreciation for their hard-work in monetary
terms,Trailfinderscan further increase the engagement of their people in business
activities.
 TUI: At present around 70,000 employees are working in TUI and they are given
extra benefits and remuneration for their hard work. Training and orientations are
given to these employee so that they can perform their business activities in
comfortable manner.
Physical evidence
 Trailfinders: Registration documents of company, official website are the
physical evidence of company. Mobile application of company is also a good
physical evidence for company (Arendt and Allain, 2019).
 TUI: Merchandise of company is its main physical evidence along with their head
office and online website. These evidence shows that this organisation really
exists in market and operating against rival firms.
TASK 3
Formulate a marketing plan for travel business and apply marketing mix to evaluate &
monitor overall marketing objectives
Marketing plan is stated as a written and operational document which includes
promotional and advertising strategies so that target market can be identified and
satisfied in a proper manner. With the help of marketing plan, Trailfinders will be able to
decide which strategies it can implement and which product or service it can introduce
in market so that high advantage over rivals can be attained.
OVERVIEW
Trailfinders is a travelling agency which is successfully operating across the
globe. Main products and services of company are passenger airlines, package
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holidays etc. To further increase their profits and sales, company is going to open up
Exclusive Spa centres in London. These centre will provide massage and body spa to
the guests of Trailfinders at discounted price and other people in normal price. By this,
company will be able to earn more revenues and profits.
OBJECTIVES
 To increase the sales of company by 25% in upcoming 1 year after opening of
spa centre.
 To enhance the market share of company by 15% within one year.
SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths Weaknesses
 Spa centres will helps the guests
and visitors in reducing their
tiredness at discounted price so that
they can enjoy visits to different
places in an energetic manner.
 Guests ofTrailfinderswill have to
pay discounted price for the
services at Spa centre and other
people have to pay regular prices
which are high. This can limits the
popularity of Spa centre among
people of UK.
Opportunities Threats
 Company can introduce food and
beverage facilities at Spa centre so
that people can spend their time in
more comfortable manner. This will
helps Trailfinders in popularising its
spa services among people so that
high revenues can be attained.
 Existing spa centres in London
which are offering exceptional
services to their customers are
biggest threat to the sales of Spa
centre introduced by Trailfinders.
STRATEGIES
 Segmentation: It is referred to the dividing of total population in different
segments so that a company can target desired segment of people in a proper
manner. Company can segment its customers on the basis of geography,
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psycho-graphics, demographics and behaviour of customers.Trailfinders is going
to segment its customers on the basis of demographics.
 Targeting:Trailfindersis going to target people on the basis of age and income.
People from high class having age between 18 to 45 years will be targeted by
company so that maximised sales and profits can be earned (Abushadi and
et.al ., 2015).
 Positioning: To position itself in front of customers, company will give
appropriate information about its spa centre to public via promotions and
campaigns so that people can acknowledge this new service of company.
Marketing mix
 Product: Trailfinders is going to open up its Spa centre in London which will offer
massage and other relaxing services to their customers.
 Price: Guests ofTrailfinderswill be given discount and other people have to pay
full amount charged at spa centre. Services of Spa are moderately priced.
 Place: This centre is going to be opened in London where main office
ofTrailfindersis situated.
 Promotion: To promote their spa centre, manager of company can carry out
digital advertisements on social media platforms so that maximum people can be
targeted at single time.
Cost
Particulars Amount (£)
Marketing 10000 £
Workforce 10000 £
Plot purchasing 150000 £
Equipments 150000 £
MONITORING AND CONTROL
To measure the effectiveness of marketing plan, manager in Trailfinders is
needed to monitor and control the activities of this plan in a regular manner. To monitor
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and control their performance after implementing this plan, company can adopt tools
like KPI and benchmarking so that required modifications can be carried out in timely
manner.
CONCLUSION
In accordance with above given report, this can be summarised that roles of
marketing includes research, analysis, selling, promotion and distribution of services or
products which are offered by a business firm. It is important for marketing team to work
in coordination with other department so that organisational work can be attained in
productive manner. With the help of marketing mix, various tactics are adopted by travel
organisations to attain organisational objectives. Preparing marketing plan helps the
company in deciding different strategies so that expected objectives can be attained
desirably.
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REFERENCES
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Online:
5 marketing concepts. 2017. [online]. Available
through:<https://iedunote.com/marketing-concept/>
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